How much are your vinyl records worth?

Vinyl records are making a comeback and this is the perfect time for you to cash in! Go rummaging in the attic, investigate those dusty shelves and see what treasures you can find hidden away.

Grading

First up to consider is the condition of your old vinyls.

Most record collectors use the simple Goldmine Standard:

Mint (M)

This record is pretty much perfect in every way, in an unblemished, sealed sleeve and has never been played. Many collectors will only grade up to NM in order to keep Mint condition as the unrealised ideal.

Near Mint (NM)

The sound quality is perfect although it has been played a few times. The vinyl is glossy, unmarked and the sleeve looks pretty good.

Very Good Plus (VG+)

The sleeve and vinyl are lightly marked and it suffers from occasional faint audio blips, but otherwise there isn’t really anything wrong with it.

Very Good (VG)

There are a couple of minor problems like background pops and clicks or small visible scratches that indicate it’s had a few birthdays, but it is still enjoyable to listen to and look at.

Good (G)

To be brutally honest, Good means Barely Acceptable. It looks scruffy, may be missing its sleeve and the sound issues will be very noticeable.

Poor (P) or Fair (F)

The only records to be sold in this condition are the rare or vintage, where the privilege of owning them matters more than the quality of the piece. The record is badly warped, scratched or cracked, creating a listening experience that borders on painful.

Cleaning

When preparing to grade, first give them a clean to get rid of all the gunk. This bungs up the record, making the music jump, skip and click. A proper vinyl record cleaner would be your best bet, but these can get a little pricey. Have a look at these 8 easy and affordable ways to clean your records here.

Once your record is clean, have a look at it under a strong bright light (ideally direct sunlight) with a magnifying glass, and then play a song or two on your record player, or the entire thing if you can. Remember to be wary of grading as high as NM unless it really deserves it.

Identification

Now that you have an idea of what grade your record is, work out exactly what it is that you have on the table in front of you.

There should be a label or a serial number somewhere on the record or its sleeve, and if you check this against a catalogue or online, you can work out good-to-know details like which edition you have in front of you.

Different editions of the same album can have huge variations in selling price, so it is very important to know which one you have.

Pricing

If you are new to the whole selling vinyl records shebang, then a handy tip is to check how much other people sold them for.

If you can find what more experienced sellers got for records identical to yours in terms of edition and quality, then this will give you a good idea of where to set your asking price. Try searching the historic selling data of sites like:

Discogs

CollectorsFrenzy

Popsike

top Five most valuable vinyl records

Most of your records will probably not be particularly rare or exciting… but where’s the fun in thinking like that?

Just in case they happen to turn up in your attic, here are the five most valuable vinyl records.

Number five

Artist: Queen

Record: Bohemian Rhapsody/I’m In Love With My Car

Details: 7” single, 1978; it doubled as the invitation to a party, so came with extras like pens, a menu and an additional outer sleeve.

Value: £5000.

number four

Artist: The Beatles

Record: White Album

Details: Double LP, 1968

Value: £7000

number three

Artist: The Sex Pistols

Record: God Save The Queen/No Feelings

Details: Single, 1977; those with the original brown envelope and press release are worth £8000

Value: £7500

number two

Artist: The Quarrymen

Record: That’ll Be The Day/In Spite Of All The Danger

Details: A 1981 private reproduction of the 1958 original

Value: £10,000.

number one

Artist: The Quarrymen

Record: That’ll Be The Day/In Spite Of All The Danger

Details: the only known copy of the pre-Beatles disc recorded at a local electrical shop by McCartney, Lennon and Harrison with drummer Colin Hanton and pianist John Duff Lowe.

Value: £100,000.

Where can you sell them?

If just getting rid of records that take up too much space is your priority, you could sell them at non-specialist second hand stores or at a car boot sale. This is also good if your records aren’t particularly rare or valuable. You might be able to get a decent lump sum for a collection, but otherwise you’ll probably end up selling them for a couple quid.

If you have anything worth making a fuss over, or just want to make sure you squeeze the last penny out of any prospective buyers, try visiting:

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

One thought on “Make money selling vinyl records”

Just to make you aware,a lot of people know about Amazon’s no quibble customer service policy.
I sold a record once on there for £47 the buyer started a claim, starting they thought they were ordering a cd.
Amazon instantly decided in their favour and I lost not only the money but the record as well, which was quite rare.
I would really avoid Amazon for selling.

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